Track for toy railways



Filed Feb. 4, 1936 mm d m m n mmw 7 I mi Mw 6 m d 16 r/ -h .6 ii JEM I I U 4 A 7 w 5. M

Patented Jan. .10, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT' OFFICE Germany, assignors to the firm Vereinigte SpielwarenfabrikenAndreas Fortner & J. Hodners Nachf. G. in. b.

IL, Nuremberg, Germany Application February 4, 1936, Serial No. 62,347

8 Claims.

The invention relates to a track for toy railways, in which the rail Joints are formed by the track members the ends of which engage, one within another, by means of teeth.

In known rail joint connections for toy railways, the ends of the track members to be joined are provided with lugs which engage together and under the upper part of the track member, and effect a rigid union of the track members, so that when the one member is lifted, the attached member is also lifted without bending.

In contrast to this arrangement, the ends of the track members according to the invention are connected together by flexible means, and not only in a detachable manner, but also articulated so that the joint will hinge in the vertical direction. Consequently, the track can be directly adapted to change from the level to up and down gradients, without any special intermediate memhers, and the performance of the game can be rendered more varied and attractive by the interposition of bridges, flying cross overs and other irregularities of the track lay out.

Further in accordance with the invention, the

toothed indentations on the track members are so arranged that the teeth and tooth gaps on the two ends of the members are offset; that is to say, at the point where a tooth is provided on the one end of the track member, there is a corresponding gap at the other end. Consequently, each of the two sets of teeth on a track member will flt directly with the teeth on the end of theadjoining track member, and each member can be connected up by means of either end.

The interlocking of the articulated track members is effected by means of flexible tongues which, in the case of electric toy railways, serve, at the same time, as contacts ensuring a satisfactory flow of thecurrent. The interlocking of the track 40 members by means of said tongues is easily and quickly performed, and they can be detached with equal ease and speed.

In the known toy-railway tracks, the rails are formed by hollow bodies of sheet metal, which are 45 flxed on sleepers or continuous track members.

It is also known to construct rails and track members integrally, out of a single piece of sheet metal.

In contrast to this arrangement, the rails according to the invention are mounted on ribs on 501 the track members, the rails being preferably made of sheet metal and the track members of pressed material (such as artificial resin).

By a simple method of manufacture, the invention provides a perfectly uniform design of the 55 track, so that the rails, situated on the ribs of the Germany February 15, 1935 track members are true to gauge throughout, and the rail level is constant. Since the cavity in the sheet-metal rail is completely filled by the rib on the track member, any bulging of the rails is precluded.

Several typical embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the'drawing, in which: Figure '1 is a plan of two rail members in the assembled position, and Figure 2 is a side elevation of said members according to Figure 1. Figure 3 is a section along the plane III-III of Figure 1. Figure 4 is a cross section through the track member only. Figure 5 is a perspective view of part of a rail. Figure 6 is a view, from below, of two assembled track members, with spring connections. Figures 7 and 8 are sections along the planes VII-VII and VIII--VIII respectively, of Figure 6. Figure 9 is another form of spring connection for the rails, and Figure 10 is a section along the plane D-D of Figure 9. Figure 11 is another spring connection, and Figure 12 is a section along the plane E E of Figure 11.

The track is composed of the track or base member, which is made of insulating material, such as pressed composition, and is provided on the upper face, with three longitudinal ribs 2 (Figure 4). On these ribs are laid the sheet metal running or contact rails 3, of channel section and being attached, at the ends, to the track member I, by clamps 4 (Figure 3). At each end of the track member I, and corresponding with the two running rails, are springy locking members 6 and rigid locking members 611. In the case of electric railways, there is also the middle rail (contact rail) and spring contact member I. The clamp 4 passes through the top of the track member I, at two points, and is bent over the flanges of the rail 3.

The rail joints are established by means of the track members I, the ends of which interlock by means of toothed indentations and thereby bring the butt ends of the rails into contact and alignment. Both ends of each track member I are provided with teeth 8 and tooth gaps 9, which are offset in such a manner that a tooth at one end is in alignment with a tooth gap at the other end ofstraight. In such event, a stop 9a is provided on the gaps 9, for lateral guidance.

The interlocking members 6 may be of various design. In Figures 6 and '7, the locking member 6, on the track member is designed as a rigid tongue Ed, the end I ll of which is bent in the shape of a V. Adapted to latch over this V is the V- shaped end ll of a spring tongue 6b provided on the other track member. To improve the springy action, the tongue 6b is subjected to the action of a fiat spring E2.

The contact member I connected with the middle rail (contact rail) is uniformly designed, on each of the track members to be assembled, as a spring contact tongue, bent at an angle at the point of contact (Figure 8).

According to Figures 9 and 10, the rigid tongue 60 of the interlocking member attached to the one track member, is provided with a stamped nipple i3, and the other track member is provided with two spring contact tongues 6d, constituting a fork, one of said tongues having a hole it adapted to engage the nipple Hi. The interlocking member shown in Figures 11 and 12 is similar to that in Figures 6 and 7, except that the rigid tongue Ee and the spring tongue 6) are located on the side of the track member. The tongue ti is also provided on its V end, with a projecting lip l5, which facilitates the mutual engagement of the tongues.

The member i, on which the rails 3 are carried by the ribs 2, need not form a continuous unit, but may also be divided up into sleepers, in which case the terminal sleepers are provided with the spring interlocking members.

We claim:

1. i sectional toy railway track, each section comprising a base member having a top part on which are a pair of longitudinally extending ribs laterally spaced apart equal to the gauge of the track, said base member and ribs being integral and composed of insulating material, a metallic track rail on the top part and fitted on each rib and being of equal length with the length or" the base member, and means on each end of the base member to interlock adjacent track sections together and electrically connect the rails.

2. A toy railway track according to claim 1, in

' which the interlocking means are secured to the base member by means which also secure the track rails to the top part and over their respective ribs.

3. A toy railway track according to claim 1, in which the interlocking means are secured to the base member by means which also secure the track rails to the top part and over their respective ribs, and in which each interlocking means is in the form of a flat elongated spring element secured horizontally to each base member to permit angular movement in vertical direction between two adjacent track sections.

4. A sectional toy railway track, each section comprising a base member, a plurality of track rails extending the entire length of the base member and mounted on one side thereof, a plurality of interconnecting means on the other side of the base member for connecting two adjacent traok sections together and being entirely concealed from view when the track sections are connected together and in normal position, and means for jointly securing a rail and an interconnection means to the base member, said joint securing means extending through the base member.

5. A sectional toy railway track, each section comprising a base member of insulating material, a plurality of track rails and a third rail, said base member extending the entire length of the rails and the rails being secured to the upper surface of the base member, and a plurality of interlocking members secured to the under side of the base member which are adapted to lock the track sections together and to carry electric current from one track section to the adjacent one.

6. A sectional toy railway track, each section comprising a base member having a fiat part and a side surface on each side of the flat part, the base member having three parallel ribs extending longitudinally in spaced relation on the top of the fiat part and the base member and ribs being integral and composed of an insulating material, a. pair of track rails on the flat part and positioned by the two outside ribs, a third rail on the fiat part positioned by the middle rib, an interlocking member for each track rail on the under side of the fiat part, a spring contact member for the third rail on the under side of the fiat part, and means for securing the track rails and third rail to the interlocking members and spring contact member respectively and to the base member, said interlocking members and spring contact member cooperating between adjacent track section to mechanically connect adjacent track section together and to electrically connect the third rails together respectively.

'7. A toy railway track according to claim 6, in which the interlocking members also convey electric current from the track rails of one track section to the adjacent one.

8. A sectional toy railway track, each section comprising a base member, a plurality of track rails and a third rail, said base member extending the entire length of the rails and the rails being secured to the upper surface of the base member, and a plurality of interlocking members secured to the under side of the base member which are adapted to lock the track sections together and to carry electric current from one track section to the adjacent one, said interlocking members being in the form of spring clips which permit the separation of the track sections by moving two adjacent sections in any direction in an angular movement relative to each other.

SIEGFRIED KAI-IN.

ERNST BEYER. 

